Ed Lein, a multi-talented librarian, walks us through some interesting library history in this month's staff profile. If JPL has a figurative crown, Ed would be one of its brightest jewels. His efforts have maintained good relationships with musical artists, which have equated to repeat performances by up and coming artists to seasoned professionals for 28 years at the Main Library (old and new.) Ed Lein is a whiz at keeping culture alive in northeast Florida. THANK YOU, ED!
All these FREE concerts have racked up a lot of FREE advertising for JPL, and what's not to like about that?
Q: How long have you been a
librarian for JPL and what do you see as your greatest accomplishments?
A: I joined the JPL family in June 1986, so 28 years come June.
Here are three things that arose from being in the right place at
the right time:
One was working with Mr. Driggers to
develop the finest public library collection of classic music CDs in the
Southeast. The advent of downloadable MP3s is rapidly
making the collection obsolete, but when I started here the compact disc was a
format that the Library had not yet begun to collect. I came to JPL from FSU
where I was music cataloger and worked in acquisitions ordering music scores,
LPs (ask your grandparents, kids) and CDs from both American and European
suppliers. That experience made it easy for me to establish relationships with
reliable music vendors and to initiate the cataloging and processing of the
"new" format here.
Two... This no doubt will shock the children, but through my first
decade here there was no such thing as the Internet. "Online"
only became worldwide about halfway through my second decade. I think JPL
was one of the first public libraries to offer an e-mail reference service, and
I was directly involved in developing the initial service procedures and
preparing the first "contact us" web form for it. I also developed
the Ready Reference web page still used by Main Library Reference staff.
Last (but not least) are the Music @ Main concerts through which
the Library brings free classical music performances to the community.
The first few Library-sponsored concerts were presented on the mezzanine
of “old Main,” beginning in December 1986 (if memory serves). When we first
began offering Sunday hours I thought hosting concerts might be a good way to
convince folks to come Downtown on Sundays.
Q: How did you get involved
with Music at Main and how has that evolved over the years?
A: Those first concerts were popular, so then-director Judy Williams
approached the Friends about buying a piano to support a regular concert series
in the Library auditorium. They went for it, and the baby grand they donated
still serves us well. The original series, called “Ex Libris,”
lasted a few years before I went off to be a branch manager. After
my sojourn in the wilderness I made it back to old Main, and we moved into the new
Main Library in the fall of 2005. I’ve hosted
concerts in the Hicks Auditorium since February 2006, at first mostly on
Sundays, but later on various weeknights too; currently we have concerts on
Sundays and Tuesday evenings. The performers aren't paid, and the concerts
initially provided a showcase just for local musicians. But by January 2009 I
was surprised with requests for concert dates from out-of-town
performers, mostly faculty and doctoral students from various
universities in Florida and Georgia, but also from California. We've hosted
musicians from Italy, Norway and South Korea, too. We still get more
requests from musicians wanting to perform than we have available dates.
Q: Name some of the best performances at Music
at Main and why they stood out to you.
A: We have had many, many outstanding performances, so these are just
highlights of the highlights:
--In terms of exceptional musicality three stand out as really
special: (1) Alexei Romanenko, Jacksonville
Symphony’s principal cellist, joined UNF faculty
artists Simon Shiao and Gary Smart performing Ravel’s Piano Trio;
(2) violinist Max Huls and pianist Christine
Clark performing Franck’s Violin Sonata; and (3) a quartet from FSU
called enhakē (the Seminole word
for “sound”) performing movements from Messiaen’s Quartet
for the End of Time. One movement has everybody in unison and
octaves, flying through incredibly complex, constantly shifting
rhythms. They were so flawless it was spooky--and they’ve won some
international chamber music awards to prove it.
--In 2007 the UNF Opera Department was
just forming and they gave their first public performance at the Library,
namely a concert version of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, complete with
chorus and a small orchestra.
--We’ve hosted world premieres of at least a dozen works in a
variety of vocal, choral and instrumental styles. Three of the concerts
featuring new compositions stand out, at least to me, because the various
musicians asked me to write them pieces they then performed.
--We hosted the American debut recital of Abbas Abboud, an Iraqi pianist who performed regularly on Iraqi
TV before immigrating to America. He’s a very fine musician, but what
really made his recital stand out was the huge crowd that showed up for it. Out
of the nearly 400 seats in Hicks there were maybe only a half dozen empty ones.
Q: Why is Music at Main
important to the community and to JPL?
A: Besides the obvious entertainment and educational aspects, you can
never have too much culture.
The concerts are free, we're centrally located, and the acoustics
in the Hicks Auditorium are exceptional. So it’s win-win-win for folks
who love live classical music, as well as for those who maybe aren’t so sure
about it and want a risk-free test drive. It gives professional musicians a
place to showcase their talents (and polish performances for paying gigs), and
student musicians an opportunity to perform in a “real-life” setting. The
concerts provide a reason for folks to come to the Main Library who otherwise
might never come Downtown because of our many wonderful branch locations, and
they promote the Library collection by way of the “Selected Related Library
Resources” bibliographies that are included in all the program guides.
The concerts also expose folks to our Conference Center who otherwise might not
know the facilities even exist.
Q: What would you like to
share with us about the interests you plan to pursue after retiring in June
2014?
A: The plan is to switch from full-time Reference to part-time Adult Programming, specifically to keep the concerts going, so I’ll still be around. We’re planning two concerts a month, October through June. Otherwise, no big plans for me. I hope to finish several music composition projects and maybe start some new ones, and I’d like to get back to painting and drawing. Then there are always the obligatory house and garden projects. I’ve never been bitten by the travel bug, but I expect I’ll spend more time visiting friends and family, or getting them to visit me. And even if they maybe don’t want to visit with me, everybody loves my dog, Conrad—he’s a real party animal.
On Sunday, April 27, Beaches Branch Library participated in the 68th annual Opening Of The Beaches Parade. Julie Rekow (Hit
Girl) and Terry Welch (radioactive Librarian) were joined by Richard Crook,
President of the Friends Of The Beaches Branch Library, (Batman) and his son
Noah (Robin) advertising the upcoming Comic Con, May 3. Also walking were Superheroes
from Superhero Beach Comic Book Store who is partnering with JB. Once again, a
good time was had by all! 
Kimberly McTeer at Westbrook Branch brags about a customer who brightens every employee's day when he visits, "Mr. Whighams is one of our favorite customers. When he comes in, he always has a smile on his face and says he had a call that his DVDs were ready for pickup. The staff can do nothing but laugh. He also treats us with fruits and his favorite drink, Coke, every month. We love Mr. Whighams and we know he loves the staff at WBK. Thanks, Mr. Whighams!"
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KR Branch Manager Lynne Baldwin had the pleasure of hosting a group of VIPs and a ceremony to welcome new citizens of the U.S., "The United States Citizenship and Immi- gration Service hosted
a Naturali- zation Ceremony at Mandarin Branch Library on Tuesday, April 15, as a
part of National Library Week. It was standing room only as 56 immigrants
from 26 different countries were sworn in as United States citizens. Among
the honored guests were City Councilman Matt Schellenberg (L/R), Library Director Barbara Gubbin, Library Board Trustee Guy Anderson, Dr. Brenda Simmons-Hutchins, Chair of the Library Board
of Trustees, and SE Region Supervisor Michael Sullivan. The library staff decorated
the branch with red, white and blue balloons and served a huge cake decorated
as a United States flag. Congratulations to all of the new United States
citizens!"
Pablo Creek Library Associate Janice Adams announced some good news about one of JPL's volunteers, "In
April 2014, Forrest “Frosty” Schuneman received a Presidential Volunteer
Service Award that includes a certificate, lapel pin, and a letter from
President Barak Obama thanking Mr.Schuneman for his service to the community. He began
volunteering at the Beaches Branch in 2012 and now spends time helping at both
the Beaches and Pablo Creek Branches. Frosty is a dedicated volunteer and is much
appreciated by JPL employees."
Miss Michelle from the Jacksonville Zoo visited Graham Branch, April 23, bearing some of their “friends”. Seventeen children and caregivers from Kidz Korner enjoyed close
encounters with a baby alligator (seen here), baby boa constrictor, opossum, turtle,
rabbit, and a blue-tongued lizard. A wild time was had by all!
Community Relations and Marketing Assistant Director Kathy Lussier received a pleasant surprise recently and said, "Gretchen Mitchell presented me with the 'Get to
Yes' mascot. In her note she said,
'You have BLASTed to the top in your ability to find workable
solutions.' I
feel very honored to have earned the privilege of having Jackson de Ville
hanging out with me these past few days, but it's time to send him along to
another JPL employee." 
Murray Hill hosted science expert, Sheryl Dwyer from Big Bang Science to do a “Wicked
Weather Science” program for kids ages 5-12, April 17. YA Librarian Chiquita Powell shares the results, "We had 25 participants who saw Ms. Dwyer use UV beads to demonstrate the effects of UV rays on the skin. Inside the beads were white; when we went outside
the beads turned colors. She explained they turned colors because of the
UV rays from the sun. Additionally, she explained and demonstrated how hurricanes and
tornadoes form. Using a glass jar with water, a few pieces of
confetti, and dish detergent, with the flick of the wrist, they created their
own tornado in a jar. Lastly, using a
leaf blower, she demonstrated how powerful hurricanes can be. Overall the
kids and parents learned a lot about science and gained more of an appreciation
for our--sometimes--wicked weather." 
Graham Branch Manager Jackie Spiritas said, "Our Anime Club meeting, April 14, was a Japanese
cultural and educational experience. For those who think it is all gaming, they would be surprised. The program was planned by Library Associate Sharon Whitt and facilitated
with the help of Library Clerk Chanika
Kimbrough and Volunteer Lanicha McMillan.
Eight teens tried their hand at drawing Japanese lettering and learned that
each letter represented a word in the Japanese language. They also used
chopsticks to eat authentic Japanese noodles prepared in a crock pot, as well
as a variety of candy and sweets from Japan. The leftovers were awarded to the
teen that could identify what the word or character drawn on the bottom of
their noodle bowl represented.
Big thanks to Brian Chittick of the 501st Legion
and David Foster and Alison Pulley for organizing the event and taking photos.
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